The room smelled of iron.
Blood clung to the air, thick and metallic, staining Light's shirt and the sheets beneath the silver-haired girl. He sat rigid, his storm-grey eyes fixed on her fragile chest, counting each shallow rise and fall.
The clock on the wall ticked mercilessly loud. Tick. Tick. Tick.
Every second stretched like an eternity.
Her skin was cold. Too cold. Light clenched his jaw, grabbed the half-empty first aid kit from his drawer. His fingers worked quickly—scissors cutting through fabric, bandages pressing against wounds.
He wasn't a doctor. But instinct guided him, as though he'd done this before.
Blood smeared his hands. He tightened the bandage, teeth gritted. "…Don't you dare die here."
The pendant at his chest pulsed faintly, warmth seeping into his skin, as if answering his demand.
---
Her world blurred in shades of grey and silver.
Feratinnia drifted between consciousness and oblivion. The air smelled strange here—no smoke, no ash, only rain and metal. A world too clean, too quiet.
But through the haze, warmth cradled her. His warmth.
Her heart trembled. So warm… like I've come home after a war that never ended.
Even as her body screamed, her soul whispered relief. She had found him. The Bond had not lied.
Her lips parted, but darkness tugged her under again.
---
Morning bled pale light through the blinds. The dorm smelled faintly of rain.
Light sat by his desk, storm-grey eyes unblinking, fixed on the girl lying in his bed. He hadn't slept. Every twitch of her hand, every hitch in her breath reverberated in his chest as if it were his own.
The Soul-Bond… it hadn't faded.
Her eyes fluttered open. Blue-silver irises, luminous even in weakness, searched the room before landing on him. Confusion rippled across her face.
"…This world… what world… is this?"
Her voice was soft, cracked, but melodic.
Light leaned back, arms crossed, hiding the tightness in his chest. His tone was steady, but sharp.
"You're the one who should explain. You burst into my life bleeding, call my blood inhuman, and now… this."
The pendant glimmered faintly at his throat, as if agreeing.
She looked at him, and for a moment, her gaze softened—relief hidden beneath exhaustion.
It really is him. His aura… unmistakable. The prophecy didn't lie.
Her lips trembled. "…Forgive me. I didn't choose this. The Bond… it chose us."
---
Light's eyes narrowed, storm gathering. "Bond? Soul-Bond? Hybrid? Do you even hear yourself? I'm human."
Her eyes widened. Tears stung. "No… you're not. I can feel it. Your blood—it resonates. You carry what doesn't belong to this world."
His fists clenched, nails digging into his palms. Anger rose, but beneath it—fear.
"You expect me to accept that because you feel it?"
The Bond pulsed between them, a faint silver glow wrapping their chests. The pendant hummed, silencing the room for one breath.
Feratinnia swallowed her pain, heart aching. He doesn't believe me… but the Bond never lies.
"…Then why me?" His voice cracked, harsher than he intended. "Why my blood?"
Her gaze held his, unwavering despite her trembling body.
"Because you are the Hybrid. The only one who can gather what was lost. The one I've been searching for across worlds."
Her voice broke, but her conviction did not.
Light stood, pacing toward the window. The blinds rattled faintly in the morning breeze. His storm-grey eyes scanned the skyline.
For a second—just a second—the air shimmered. A crack stretched across the sky, thin, glowing, before vanishing.
His chest tightened. Something is watching.
Behind him, Feratinnia shivered. The Bond carried her fear into him—cold, sharp. She pulled the blanket tighter around her, lips whispering prayers from a world he didn't know.
They'll come. They'll hunt him. Hunt us. I won't let them. Not again.
Her gaze drifted back to him, and the trembling in her chest eased. Even if I have to die here, at least… I'm not alone.
---
Light turned. His eyes softened, almost imperceptibly. She looked fragile, broken, yet her eyes still burned with fire.
He exhaled, slow, steady. "…You're a stranger. You've dragged me into something I never asked for. But…"
He looked at the blood on his hands, at the glow of the pendant, at her trembling form. His chest tightened.
"…I can't throw you away."
Her lips parted, eyes wide, shimmering with sudden tears. Her voice cracked, but the words held.
"…Thank you."
The Bond pulsed, warm, settling into their hearts.
Her inner voice whispered: I won't fail. Not this time. I won't let him fight alone.
And his thoughts followed: If destiny wants me… then I'll face it my way.
---
Exhaustion dragged them under.
But sleep didn't bring rest—it brought the void.
Light opened his eyes to endless white. Weightless. Silent.
Feratinnia stood before him, whole, radiant, her wounds gone. The chain of silver light glowed faintly between them, pulsing with their heartbeats.
She looked at him, lips trembling. "…So it wasn't a dream."
His storm-grey eyes softened, just barely. "…No. It wasn't."
For a heartbeat, silence reigned. Then the void whispered, their voices overlapping inside both their minds:
"Two souls, bound as one. The awakening has begun."
The chain pulsed brighter. Their hearts beat in perfect rhythm.
---
Light jolted awake, chest heaving. The pendant glowed faintly, warm against his skin.
Across the room, Feratinnia stirred, her lips moving in sleep. One word escaped, trembling but clear:
"…Light."
He froze.
The neon outside flickered. And high above the city, hidden from mortal eyes, another crack widened. Shadows stirred within it, watching.
The hunt had begun.
---